His Aching Heart
by FaithfulWhispers
Summary: Future AU: Years have passed since the turtles met April. Things are still crazy, but that's normal life to them. April needs to pass the SATs, so she enlists Donnie for help. What happens during their night of studying? A short Apriltello oneshot.


**Author's Notes: Hey guys! So this is my first real Apriltello fic. I've had some Apriltello moments in other fanfics, but never one devoted to it. I had the urge to write one as Donnie and April are incredibly cute. Season 3 shows they are starting develop a bit more. I don't hate the other pairings, but I really am a sucker for Apriltello. This fic was inspired by the episode A Foot too Big. Hope y'all enjoy!  
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Propping his head up by his hand, Donatello leaned on the table. His eyes carefully watched as April etched answers onto a piece of paper across from him. Soaking in the details in her face, he quietly admired her from where he sat. In her yellow floral pajamas, April wrote away furiously with determination on her face.

A strand of her red hair fell into her face and gently she swiped it back in place, only to resume working. Minutes stretched by as he sat there in silence. When she stopped writing and began to chew on her eraser, he quickly noticed. Sitting up, he stretched his long arm across the small rounded table and placed his hand on hers.

With his reddish-brown eyes shining, he drew up a slight smile. "You shouldn't eat that." He jokingly stated.

After knowing her for years, Donnie became more comfortable around her. He was able to joke with ease, even though he still had his awkward moments. There were times however, when the girl confused him even to this day.

Smirking at his remark, April dropped the pencil and huffed out. Lightly moving his hand away, she used both of hers to lift up a thick heavy textbook. Turning it around so that it faced him, she pointed to a problem that she was struggling with.

"Donnie, I don't understand this. No matter what I try, I can't seem to get the right answer." Furrowing her brows, her bottom lip stuck out in frustration.

"Man, she's cute." He quickly thought to himself before darting his eyes to where she pointed. A slight hum emitted from his throat as he rubbed his chin. "Let me see what you have written down so far." Looking back to her, he pointed towards the paper with scribbles all over it.

Complying with his request, she pushed the paper over to him. He plucked it up and analyzed it. Then he stood up silently and moved over to her, while thinking of easy ways to explain the problem. Setting the paper back down in front of her, he leaned over and pointed at her mistake. "You need to move the Cl to this side and then calculate the charges in there." He stated in a light voice as he directed what to fix.

"Oh, I see! Thanks!" grabbing her pencil, she said in excitement and resumed.

Softly chuckling at her excitement, he watched her hand move and sway as she wrote. He wanted to hold it, but he had to resist all his urges. Once she finished the problem, she lifted the paper up at him to examine it.

As he glanced at it, he instantly saw that she had gotten correct. Lifting his hand up, he gave her the thumbs up while showing the gap in his tooth.

"Yes! Now I can call it a night." Sighing out in relief, April stretched her arms out in front of her. Then she slowly eased herself up out of the chair. Standing in front of the taller turtle, she lifted her head up to meet his eyes.

Softening her expression, her blue eyes held their gaze into his. She then lifted her hands and pressed them against his plastron. Quickly shifting her weight onto her toes she gave him a quick peck on the right cheek. "Thanks for helping me study for the SATs, Donnie." In a sincere tone, she said as she stepped away to collect her things.

His eyes went wide from the kiss and he slowly placed his left hand where it happened. Going to a few shades of red in an instant, he felt the heat rush to his face. "She always does things like that, but what does it mean? After all this time, I haven't been able to figure her out."

Being tired of always being confused, his heart ached for answered. A sigh escaped from his lips as he brought the hand to rub the back of his neck.

"Actually, before you go to bed…I have something I wanted to ask you, April." Shifting awkwardly from side to side, he eyed the floor to avoid making eye contact.

"Sure, what is it?" Setting down her stuff, she leaned her weight onto the table while looking back up at him.

Trying to figure out how to ask, Donnie twiddled his thumbs. Finally gaining the courage, he asked "Well, what exactly do all those hugs and kisses mean? You do them a lot and then you act like it never happened. I've made it quite clear a long time ago how I feel about you, but I'm not just a teen anymore…you aren't just playing with my emotions are you?"

After he uttered the last few words to his question, his mouth hung open in shock and he slapped his forehead. "Oh, that sounded so much better in my head." He groaned to himself, while preparing to feel her wrath.

Instead of anger that burned with in her, shock appeared on her face. She wasn't expecting to be caught off guard and it pained her to know that he felt like he was being used. "No Donnie, I'm not playing with you. I care about you a lot." In a hushed tone she replied as she stepped forward and placed her hands behind her back.

Feeling his emotions he often locks away, his heart throbbed as they came rushing up to the surface. "Yeah, I know you care. I do not doubt that ever. It's just that… you care about everyone. However, April…I…I love you." Twisting his face, he pressed his clenched fists against his plastron.

"Sometimes I feel like you're in reach, but then I'm instantly crushed again. I'll always be your friend, but I can't keep doing this." On the verge of breaking down, Donnie turned his head away in hopes of keeping it together.

Chewing on her lower lip, April wasn't ready to face this. "Get it together, he's the one hurting. You knew this was going to happen eventually." She lectured herself, while rocking her weight on her feet. "I should own up and be honest with him. We both could use that." Heaving out a heavy breath, she leaned to her side and looked towards her cabinets.

"Donnie, this will take a while…but, I promise it'll be worth it. Let me some tea first okay?" without waiting for a reply, she moved away and began to pull down the components for the tea. "Is chamomile alright?"

Admitting defeat, Donnie pinched between his eyes. "Yeah, that's fine." Again, he was confused by her. However, he was thankful he didn't hear something he dreaded. He wondered why she was putting it off, though. "She has her reasons. I'll just have to wait and see." Feeling fatigue crashing down on him, he quietly thought to himself.

"Why don't you go sit on the couch and make yourself comfortable? I'll bring it out when it's ready." Waving a hand, she directed him into the other room while she put the kettle on the stove.

"Alright."

Anxiety filled the pit of his stomach as he entered the living room. It was dark in there, but he didn't feel like turning on the light. He eased himself onto the couch and rested his arms on his legs. "I wish she would reject me right now…I just want to get this over with." He whispered to himself with a pained expression.

Using his mind, he began to calculate every possibility the conversation will lead to. He hoped that it would end up in his favor. Suddenly, April stood at the entrance of the room while holding a tray. "Why are you sitting in the dark?" With a fluid motion, she flicked the lights on and then set the tea down on the coffee table. She then quickly poured him a cup and handed to him.

The aroma filled his nose, sending a calming sensation. However, he grimaced when he took a sip. He preferred coffee. They sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping on the tea. "Huh, this tea really is calming." He noted, breaking the silence.

"Uh yeah." She gave him a slight smile as she took another sip.

Finally, Donnie sighed and set the cup back down. Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked upwards. "So…"

Setting her cup down as well, she placed her hands into her lap and faced him. "I know, I know."

"Well-"

"Donnie, let me begin…" taking one of her hands, she placed it lightly on his leg and gave him an assuring look.

Not sure how he felt, he gave a weak grin. "Okay."

Sighing, April then licked her lips and began to speak. "Donnie, I really want to make it clear that I'm not playing with your emotions. I may be stubborn and a hothead, but I'm going to be completely honest with you."

After hearing her opening statement, Donnie's eyes shifted away. The conversation was already starting to head down a disappointing path. "That's fine. I'd prefer that."

"Well, I already said I care about you…but, it's more than that…" She looked away as well, trying to decide how to continue. However, he looked back at her with a more hopeful look in his reddish-brown eyes.

Chewing on her bottom lip, April then decided to go through with it and finish the sentence. "I like you, Donnie…Well, like isn't really the word." Strands of her hair started falling into her face and Donnie quickly brushed them behind her ear.

He gazed into her eyes with longing, feeling his heart wanting to burst right through his chest. "What's the word then, April? You can tell me." Taking his hand, he gripped hers that rested on his leg.

Deciding that he deserved to hear it, she let out a heavy sigh. "Look Donnie, I love you. Okay? I love you." Lifting her other hand, she made gestures towards him.

Suddenly, he felt like he was dropped into an abyss. "April loves me. She loves me! SHE JUST SAID SHE LOVES ME!" His thoughts went into over drive and his face became a tomato red.

"Donnie?" waving her hand in front of his shocked face. His eyes were glazed over, as he was lost in thought. He then came back into the focus. "Yeah?"

"Well, I just want to tell you I'm sorry that I made you feel that way before." With a soft expression on her face, she stroked his fingers lightly.

"It's fine…but, this is all hard to believe. Logically, you shouldn't love someone…someone like-"

Cutting him off, she cocked an eyebrow. "Someone like you?"

Feeling embarrassed he let out a weak "yeah."

"Tell me, why shouldn't I love someone like you? What's wrong with you, other than you can be a bit…weird?" Trying to lighten the mood, she nudged him playfully. He then looked away, because he knew she wasn't going to like what he was about to say. "Because, look at me. I'm a freak. A mutant. You have someone like Casey…"

Feeling her anger simmer, she let go of his hand and folded her arms. "Casey? What does he have to do with our discussion right now?" Snapping at him, she asked.

Cringing from her anger, he then twiddled his thumbs and spoke softly. "Well….Well, I've seen the way you two have interacted every now and then…and he likes you and all. I mean, his smug self is constantly flirting with you." His soft voice quickly became an irritated one at the thought.

Realizing that arguing over it was pointless, April eased her expressions and grabbed his hands and placed them on her lap. "Look, if you're worried about him, then I rejected him years ago. Yeah, he flirts with me, but that's because I'm single. However, we would never make a good couple. He's Casey after all." Finishing her explanation with a chuckle, her blue eyes stared into his.

"That still doesn't change the fact that I'm a-"

Again with the negativity, she had enough. "Hey, quit it. You're you. If anything, remember what I told you a long time ago?"

A puzzled frown took his face as he tried to recall. "You've said a lot of things to me, April. In fact I can name every nice thing you've ever said to me."

An awkward smile broke out on her face. "Uh no…That's a little creepy…but, no. Remember, you're not just a mutant. You're my mutant. Ring any bells?" Egging him to remember, she clutched his hands tighter.

"Oh right!" Immediately after recalling that line, his face returned to being super red. "Then I remembered you kissed me on the lips…then acted like it never happened."

Taking one of her hands, she let go his and rubbed the back of her neck. She gave him an apologetic face. "Yeah…Sorry about that. Sorry about all of it."

"It's fine. I'm sure you had your reasons." Don then drew her in for a hug. "Thanks." She whispered in his ear. When they drew out of the hug, she nuzzled him. "I was just not ready for a commitment. But, the fact that I'm telling you this proves to me that I am now."

Next thing Donnie knew, April placed her lips onto his. His heartrate skyrocketed, and he wrapped his arms around her. Seconds seemed like hours to him and he nearly fainted when they parted. "Oh please stay conscious. I thought you said you aren't a teen anymore." She playfully teased him as she looked up into his daze eyes. He was lost in wonderful stupor.

"I'm not." Coming back to reality, he playfully pouted.

The two of them sat there for a few minutes, resting in each other's arms. Donnie then realized how late it was. "Uh, it's getting late. I know you have a busy day tomorrow." Fumbling with his words, he stroked her cheek gently.

"Yeah, you're right. It's late and I have the SATs to prepare for. So, I'll see you tomorrow night?" She nuzzled him once more.

Silently, he whispered "Sure."

"Alright." She said before giving him a quick smooch.

Another smile broke out onto his face as she got up. Shaking off his amazement, he moved himself onto his feet. "Goodnight."

"Night."

Then Donnie hopped out the window. Jumping rooftop to rooftop, he yelled and whooped his accomplishment out to the world.

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**I hope you all enjoyed this short oneshot. Hopefully I'll have Back into the City updated within a week. Thank you all for reading! ^.^**


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